


Resin and Ruthlessness

by strawberriesandtophats



Category: Discworld - Terry Pratchett
Genre: Alternate Universe - Sports, Blood, F/F, Friendship, Gen, Gender Roles, Glitter, Handball AU, Mercy - Freeform, The Nature of Sports, Trans Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-02
Updated: 2017-01-02
Packaged: 2018-09-14 08:30:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,340
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9170971
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/strawberriesandtophats/pseuds/strawberriesandtophats
Summary: Captain Angua of the Watch Handball Team is not here to make friends or show any kind of mercy. She is here to win.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [MadHatter13](https://archiveofourown.org/users/MadHatter13/gifts).



Angua Von Uberwald looked to her side as Sally grinned and ran past her on the smooth linoleum field, her nose bleeding and her knuckles red from wiping it. Sally dribbled the handball, eyes fiercely trained on the goal and sent it to Cheery, their left winger. The air smelled like sweat, hand grip resin and heat cream. 

Cheery was a crafty player, the bright ruby stud earrings and the massive amount of glitter in her sensibly braided hair distracting enough for the other team that they would stop focusing on the game or the whereabouts of the ball for a brief second or two. It was enough so that the Watch could nab the ball from them or Cheery herself could steal a moment and slip though their defense and score when the Watch was playing offense.

And if that did not work there was always Nobby, sidling through the other team‘s defense as their circle runner. That sidle of theirs had saved them so many times that it did not matter that Nobby did not tower over the team as most circle runners did and tended to make jokes when they were supposed to be running back to defend their goal. The goal was kept by Fred Colon, who had been a part of the Watch for such a long time that he only had to glance at a game to know exactly what was happening and was the only one who called Coach Vimes by his first name.

There were only a few minutes left and the score was even. 

Angua glanced at her team and saw the hunger in their eyes. They had been working for years to get to this point. They had never reached finals before, but had been steadily rising in the handball world. For the first time they had a team that had a chance of winning.

There was no room for mercy in the field, or politeness or fear. There was only the burning desire to win and your willingness to do it. You had to know your team, you had to be generous and create openings for everyone and you had to be willing to use every trick in the book to defeat the other team. The game was fast, exiting and brutal. And so were you.

Sally sent the ball back to Angua, who grabbed it without looking and slid it over to Carrot, who threw it so hard at the goal that the goalkeeper flinched and the ball sailed in, landing in the net. There was the faintest smile on Coach Vimes‘s face as he nodded at them. Angua grinned, her body automatically turning to run back to her station in the center. She could feel the flow, that fire that existed only when a team was in perfect sync, the only certain proof that the game was going well. If you caught hold of the flow you could ride it like a wave to the finish line.

For a split second there was no sound but the dribbling of the ball on the floor and the teams breathing through their teeth as they ran and turned around. Then the audience on the bleachers started shouting again, drowning out the pep song Reg had just started singing while standing on the bench alongside Dorfl, who was watching the team intensely and waving at Detritus in hope of encouraging him. The other team had clearly made a decision to leave Detritus alone and not to tackle him or try to trip him, preferring to focus on Carrot, their right back, who was more approachable and her co-captain. Not that trying to attack Carrot ever really worked. And Detritus was a mountain of muscle that acted as a bulldozer and was so tall that he would just have to throw the ball over the other team’s heads which was very useful in a right winger.

Angua turned around, facing the opposing team as they passed the ball around. She could see that Sally was still smiling at her which meant that she was going to try to steal the ball or make an great opening in the next round, and knew that she was grinning back. Cheery gave her a thumbs up and Angua smiled wider, aware that Cheery would describe as that smile as being more than slightly wolfish.

“Come on if you think you are hard enough!” Pessimal shouted from his place on the bench, surrounded by water bottles and still holding onto the plastic platter heaped with oranges. 

A member of the opposing team, named Carcer or something similar, crashed into Cheery and she stumbled backwards, crashing onto the floor. Vimes screamed at the judges and Detritus helped her up as the judges gave Carcer the yellow card. He had been getting cards and abusing loopholes for years now, but the judges would usually give him the benefit of the doubt even if he would injure the opposing team. He made a face as he turned around, having let the ball drop to the ground. But there was a wicked gleam in his eyes and Angua could see that Vimes had started drumming his fingers on his hip, a movement he would only make when he had just decided that he had had enough and would be fine with a little bit of justice. Nobby picked up the ball and dusted it off as if they were trying to get Carcer’s DNA off the sticky resin. 

Angua combed though her short hair with her fingers, arranging a few hairs that were straying from her side-part. She brushed them aside and pinned them down with a glittery bobby pin that Cheery had lent her from her endless supply, pleased how light her head felt after she had buzzed the right side. The ball was being passed between Sally and Detritus, who both looked deep in thought before passing it to Angua herself.

Angua caught the ball, adrenaline pumping through her veins as she started to run alongside the team. The ball flowed between the team, jaws tense and muscles strained as they decided on a strategy known as ‘John Keel.”

They had been saving that one, until now. Until finals. The audience was shouting encouragement, both Sybil and Young Sam were dressed in the team’s colors and singing as loudly as possible. Vimes was watching the team’s every movement.

On the field, you could be an absolutely ruthless, proud and strong. You could be an aggressive bitch who didn’t give a shit about the person in front of you. There was no need to be mild and obedient and pretty. You could be as loud and sweaty as you liked. You could be covered and glitter and gooey energy drink if you so desired. As soon as you pulled on the roomy uniform and laced your shoes the rules of the outside world slid away like shadows at sunrise. 

Her teammates created every opening imaginable, pushing the other team and distracting them so that their attention was too divided to notice Angua’s stance as she grabbed the ball while running and leapt into the air, throwing it straight into the net to roaring applause.

She allowed the all-encompassing joy that came with winning wash over her as her teammates shouted and jumped and ended up grabbing her before they all collapsed into a heap on the floor. When they got up Carcer had already slunk off to the showers, but his co-captain, Teatime, respectfully shook hands with both Angua and Carrot before heading towards his own coach and teammates. 

Angua felt Sally grab her shoulder, hands sweaty and stained with resin so that her uniform became even dirtier. But Angua could not find it in her to care as the team moved towards the cheering audience and the coaches, smiling so hard that their cheeks hurt. There would be medals and songs and endless re-runs. But for now, there was only the sound of victory in the air.

**Author's Note:**

> This is based on handball as it is practiced in Iceland, so it may not be exactly the same as in other countries. 
> 
> Let me know if I have made any grievous mistakes.
> 
> I saw some amazing fanart on tumblr that showed Angua with her hair short and buzzed on one side, but I do not remember who was the artist. Her hair in this fic is inspired by that artwork.
> 
> Handball resin does not smell nice: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Intense-Grip-Handball-Resin-500-g/dp/B00U1JEC1I
> 
> Positions of the team:
> 
> Center/Captain: Angua  
> Goalkeeper: Colon  
> Left back: Sally  
> Left winger: Cheery  
> Right back: Carrot  
> Right winger: Detritus  
> Circle runner: Nobby


End file.
